The invention relates to a mechanized device for cutting holes in golf course greens. The hole, often called a cup, in a green is frequently moved from one position on the green to another, sometimes on a daily basis. The hole is cut, the metallic or plastic liner for the hole adapted to hold the pole of the flag bearing the number of that particular green is then placed in the newly cut hole. The plug of turf and dirt from the newly cut hole is then placed in the hole from which the metal cup liner has been removed. A skillful greenskeeper can accomplish this task called "recupping" in such a way that it is practically impossible to see the former hole. Most, if not all, of the hole cutting devices in use today are manual. A person stands in front of the manual hole cutter and twists the device in a reciprocal, back and forth manner to sink the cutter into the green to the proper depth. The proper depth is 8 inches. The greenskeeper accomplishes this task by first taking a 4 inch plug, including the sod section, and ejecting it from the cutter with a manually operated foot or hand lever of some kind. A second 4 inch dirt plug is then removed in the same manner. The reason this is a two-step process is that in many cases the soil characteristics of the newly cut plug are such that it is difficult, if not impossible, to drive an 8 inch plug out of the cutter and into the old hole. Holes in greens measure 7 inches by 41/4 inches in diameter, but manually operated devices often make it necessary to take two cuts about 3 or 4 inches deep in order to drive the plug from the cutter. One of the objects of the present invention is to enable the greenskeeper to cut a new hole in a single bite. The holes in putting greens as opposed to the holes in the regular greens on the fairway are often only 5 inches deep and thus do not present as much of a problem as do the holes in the regular greens. In any case, holes in putting greens are not moved as frequently as they are on regular greens.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,817,337 to panak and Bronson describes a hydraulic driven machine for making holes in greens, including means to eject a plug of turf and dirt from the cutting cylinder. The machine described in the present application is simpler, more portable, eliminates the need for hydraulic hoses, and utilizes a simple clutch to drive out the plug from the cylindrical cutter.